WHAT THIS IS
One unforgettable weekend
to come back to each other.
Most couples were never taught how desire actually works, especially in long-term relationships.
There's no roadmap for navigating the slow drift from lovers to co-managers of a shared life, and most of us have been quietly making it up as we go.
The Passion Weekend changes that. Led by Sexologist Rachel Strevens, this intimate couples retreat blends grounded sexual education with guided couple exercises and real space to reconnect, at a beautiful lakeside setting on the Rotorua Lakes.
You won't just talk about intimacy. You'll learn how to create it: how to build anticipation, communicate your desires with confidence, understand each other more deeply, and bring real chemistry back into your relationship.
At a glance
When
20th - 22nd November 2026
Where
Rotorua Lakes, New Zealand
Investment
$1,995/couple staying at the retreat venue, or
$1,495/couple for the programme on it's own
Format
Friday 6pm - Sunday 11am
Accommodation
3 private rooms in the retreat venue, or arrange accommodation separately
Meals
Fri dinner, Sat lunch, Sun breakfast included
Led by
Rachel Strevens, Sexologist
This is not crisis therapy. It is a guided intimacy reset for couples who are stable, committed, and ready to grow into something even stronger.
WHAT YOU'LL EXPLORE
From routine to ravishing.
Across the weekend you'll move through four core areas — each one building on the last. Warm, frank, and grounded in real evidence. Nothing like the awkward sex-ed of your school days.
01
Desire & Arousal
Understand how desire actually works in long-term relationships — why it shifts, how stress and mental load affect attraction, and how to intentionally rebuild it with your partner. For most couples, this session alone is a revelation.
Understanding Each Other
02
A grown-up education in how pleasure works — for her body, his confidence, and your connection as a couple. The kind of honest information most of us were never given, delivered with warmth and zero awkwardness.
03
Communication & Confidence
Learn how to talk about what you both want, and draw out the things your partner's never quite said. The conversations that change everything — and that most couples put off indefinitely.
Connection & Chemistry
How to build the kind of anticipation that makes coming home feel exciting again. Practical tools and rituals you'll still be using six months later — because a great weekend means nothing if nothing changes on Monday.
04
THE SETTING
A private retreat venue,
right on the water.
This weekend is held in a large private lakefront property on the Rotorua Lakes. Step out the door and you're at the water's edge, with a jetty, open lawn and the lake changing colour through the day.
Inside there's room to spread out, with several living spaces, a long dining table and windows that look straight out at the lake. It's a private residence, rather than a hotel, which is exactly why it works. No corridors, no conference room, no one else wandering past. Just the lake, the house, and a small group of couples who've chosen to spend the weekend on their relationship.
Lakeside & private
Lakefront views, right on the water. Whole-property exclusive use for the weekend. Nobody there but us.
Your Saturday, together
Retreat sessions run through Saturday, then the afternoon and evening are yours. Soak in one of the nearby world-class geothermal pools, then slip away for a long, unhurried dinner. Just the two of you.
Easy to reach
Less than three hours from Auckland, and close for Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Hawke's Bay. An easy drive for a weekend that feels a world away.
Home by Sunday afternoon
We finish late-morning on Sunday, so you're on the road by eleven and home with your afternoon still ahead of you. No scrambling back into the week on Monday feeling like you never stopped.
Kept deliberately small
A small group, by design. Meaning you get real value from the progamme, and time to ask all your questions.
Wake up where the weekend is
Three private rooms in the house are yours to take. Each has a queen bed, and one looks straight out over the water. Come down in the morning to coffee and the lake, without getting in a car or checking out of anywhere.
A room in the house is $500 per couple for both nights, which makes the whole weekend $1,995. Saturday breakfast and morning coffee are included for couples staying in. Same rate for all three rooms, allocated in the order deposits come in. Once they're taken, they're taken.
Or stay nearby
WHAT'S COVERED
Here's exactly what your investment covers.
INCLUDED IN PROGRAMME FEE
All facilitated sessions and workshops across the weekend, hosted by Rachel Strevens - Sexologist
Friday evening group dinner
Saturday group lunch
Sunday breakfast together
Exclusive use of the property for the weekend and our sessions
Retreat resources and activities to take home
ARRANGED BY COUPLES SEPARATELY
Where you sleep, either a room in the house at $500 per couple or your own choice nearby
Saturday afternoon thermal pools/spa
Saturday evening dinner - your own romantic night out
Getting yourselves to the Rotorua Lakes
YOUR INVESTMENT
The weekend that actually changes something.
Most couples spend more than this on a weekend away that changes nothing. A few nice dinners, a nice view, and back to normal by Wednesday.
This is a weekend away that actually does something. You'll come home with real knowledge, real tools, and a shift in how you connect that's still with you a year from now.
Kept deliberately small and intimate.
The whole weekend, staying in the retreat property
$1,995/couple
Programme, majority of meals, and a private room in the house for both nights. Three rooms only, allocated in the order deposits come in.
Or the program on it's own
$1,495/couple
Everything except the room. Stay wherever you'd like nearby.
Either way, a $400 deposit secures your place, with the balance due four weeks before the weekend.
This weekend runs with a minimum of two couples. I'll confirm we've reached that by Sunday 18 October, and if we haven't, you choose: a full refund of everything you've paid, deposit included, or roll it across to the next date. No fine print, no arguing about it.
Prefer to talk it through first? Register your interest below and I'll be in touch.
WHAT CLIENTS SAY
Rachel's work. In their words.
"Don't feel awkward or embarrassed. Approach it with an open mind and just do it. What have you got to lose?"
MARK. — EVENT ATTENDEE
"Rachel makes it easy & comfortable to talk openly."
PAULA — EVENT ATTENDEE
"I admired your forthrightness, and your thoughtful, caring approach to the moments that were harder to talk about."
B.L. — EVENT ATTENDEE
"Rachel creates a space that feels safe yet inspiring. Her approach is both fun and deeply insightful — she knows how to push you without making you feel overwhelmed. I can't recommend her highly enough."
SCOTT B. — COACHING CLIENT
"A remarkably safe, comfortable space to explore topics that are absolutely necessary for personal growth and intimacy. It left me reflecting deeply on things we don't talk about enough. Highly recommend!"
A.S. — EVENT ATTENDEE
YOUR HOST
Rachel Strevens
I'm the Founder of The Passion Project, and I work with women, men and couples across New Zealand to reclaim intimacy, awaken desire, and live passionately — with confidence, safety, and unapologetic sensuality.
I believe great intimacy is something you can keep growing into, at any age, and at any stage of a relationship. And that with honest conversation and the right knowledge, far more is possible for most couples than they realise.
I'll bring warmth, intelligence, and just enough cheek to make the conversations that matter feel completely natural.
SEXOLOGIST
SEX COACH & EDUCATOR
ANZCAL CERTIFIED
SEXUAL HEALTH ALLIANCE (USA)
AS FEATURED IN:
NZ Herald | Woman's Day | Capsule NZ | Woman's Weekly
COMMON QUESTIONS
What couples ask before booking.
How is this different from couples therapy? Therapy usually starts from a problem, something that's gone wrong and needs repairing. This starts from the opposite place. It's not crisis therapy. You won't be unpicking old wounds with a facilitator. You'll learn how desire actually works in long-term relationships, and come away with practical tools to bring more chemistry, connection and play back into a relationship you already value.
Is this for couples in crisis, or couples who are doing okay? Couples who are doing okay. This weekend is built for stable, committed couples who love each other and simply want more: more desire, more closeness, more fun. If you're in real trouble, or weighing up whether to stay together, this isn't the place to work that out. A qualified couples therapist is the right first step, and I'll happily point you there. You don't have to be struggling to want this. You just have to be curious.
Will it be awkward? Do we have to share personal things with strangers? Only as much as you want to. There's no pressure to bare your soul to the room, no performing, and nothing you'll be made to do in front of anyone else. The learning happens together as a group; the personal, intimate part happens privately, just the two of you. Warm, frank and a bit cheeky. Nothing like the awkward sex-ed of your school days.
Do both of us need to come? What if one of us is more hesitant? Yes, it's a weekend for the two of you, so you'll both need to be there. A little hesitation is normal. Most people arrive slightly unsure and settle in within the first hour, once they realise it's grounded and enjoyable rather than confronting. If one of you is keen and the other's on the fence, that's often the couple who gets the most out of it.
Where do we sleep? Either in the house or you can arrange something nearby, whichever you prefer. There are three private rooms in the house, which makes the whole weekend $1,995 per couple including both nights and Saturday breakfast. They go in the order deposits come in. If you'd rather stay elsewhere, Rotorua has lovely options at every price point within twenty minutes, and the programme on its own is $1,495. Both include all sessions plus Friday dinner, Saturday lunch and Sunday breakfast.
How many couples will be there? The weekend is kept deliberately small and intimate, so it stays personal and every couple gets real attention. We require a minimum of two couples for the Retreat to take place, maximum of five couples. Once this date is full, it's full.
Is there any nudity, touch or bodywork involved? No. This is education-led coaching, not tantra or bodywork. You'll stay fully clothed the whole weekend, there's no touch between couples or anyone else, and nothing intimate happens in the room. What you learn is yours to take back to your own room, in your own time, in private.
Is this confidential? Completely. What's shared over the weekend stays with the people in the room. As a qualified sexologist I work to a professional code of confidentiality, and everyone who comes agrees to the same discretion: what's said, and who's there, stays private. No photos, no names, no stories carried home about anyone else. You can relax and be yourself.
What if the weekend doesn't go ahead? It runs with a minimum of two couples, and I'll confirm we've reached that by Sunday 18 October. If we haven't, you choose: a full refund of everything you've paid, or transfer to the next date. Either way you're not out of pocket.
What's your cancellation policy? Your $400 deposit is non-refundable, but it's transferable to the next retreat if you give us four weeks' notice (if minimum retreat numbers aren't reached the deposit will be fully refunded). That secures your place; the balance is due four weeks before the weekend. If you have questions about dates or timing before you book, just ask.
Register your interest.
Provide your details below to register your interest and receive full Retreat details. NOTE that this DOES NOT secure your spot (deposit must be received to secure your spot)
ANOTHER WAY IN
Not sure about the dates?
November won't suit everyone, and that's okay. If the weekend isn't right for you this time, couples coaching is a way to start closer to home, at your own pace, from wherever you are in New Zealand. Same honest conversation, same practical tools, just the two of us and you.
Or register your interest above, and you'll be first to hear when the next retreat dates are released.